‘We leave everything to God,’ says Lagos-based cleric barred from holding crusade in Akwa Ibom

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The embattled Nigerian evangelist, Yinka Yusuf, has decided to look elsewhere for his “1 Million Crusade” after the Akwa Ibom State Government cancelled an approval granted to him.

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PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Akwa Ibom State Government, through its agency that manages public facilities, wrote a letter to Mr Yusuf, informing him that the approval to use a government hall, Ibom Hall, for the crusade had been withdrawn due to “security reasons” and the “prevailing security situation in the State”.

The government letter, dated 27 January, was signed by Patrick Udomfang, the CEO of the Akwa Ibom Property and Investments Company Limited. The letter went viral on Facebook.

Mr Yusuf had paid the Akwa Ibom State Government for the use of the hall for his crusade, scheduled for 9 February at the Ibom Hall grounds.

The cleric alleged that the Akwa Ibom chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) instigated the state government against him because the two religious blocs had invited a Kenyan prophet to Uyo.

He said the programme by the Kenyan prophet was slated to take place a week before his own crusade, but that CAN and PFN wanted him to postpone his by a week. He argued that he had already spent millions of naira on publicity and logistics, and that international guests had booked flights to Uyo, making any last-minute shift costly and disruptive.

Moving out of Uyo

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, the evangelist announced that his ministry had decided to discontinue the plans for the Uyo crusade.

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“We have come to the end of the road for Uyo,” Mr Yusuf wrote. “The government, PFN, and CAN have insisted that I must reschedule our crusade to accommodate the Kenya government, PFN, and CAN crusade, moving it forward by a week.

“We have decided to act according to the Word of God and move to the next city.”

He said his team was withdrawing trucks and trailers already mobilised for the programme back to Lagos, adding that he had spent over N43 million on the botched crusade.

“We leave everything to God, from whom nothing is hidden. May the Lord bless the Governor, PFN, and CAN. We wish them a successful programme. May the Lord of the harvest, who sent us to Uyo, send other evangelists to accomplish what we couldn’t do in the city,” he said.

“We apologise to the five thousand evangelists we invited to Uyo from around the world; many have already purchased their tickets from America, the UK, South Africa, Australia, Namibia, etc.”

The announcement came hours after a video clip circulating on social media showed the evangelist making remarks, considered derogatory, about Akwa Ibom, which has a predominantly Christian population.

“The problem is the ancestral demon that controls Calabar and Uyo. Think of Okon, you are thinking about a gateman. Think about Ekaette, you are thinking about a cook.

“It has made them believe that they are slaves. If you go there, you will see pride that is not in America. The most proud people in this world are from Akwa Ibom. Proud for nothing,” he said in the video.

The comments sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the backlash, Mr Yusuf, in another video posted on his Facebook page, dismissed the clip as propaganda by people opposed to the crusade.

He said the video was taken out of context and was from a sermon he preached two years earlier on what he described as “pulling down spirit” in the state.

The Akwa Ibom State Government, apparently capitalising on the evangelist’s controversial remarks, backtracked on its earlier reason for withdrawing the approval for the crusade.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the decision was not based on any prevailing security situation, as no such condition exists in Akwa Ibom State,” the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, said in a statement on Friday.

“Rather, it was informed solely by the vile, denigrating, and inflammatory comments made against the people of the State by Pastor Yusuf in a widely circulated video, in which he crudely stereotyped and insulted the collective identity, dignity, and intelligence of the Akwa Ibom people.

“These comments constitute a direct affront to the approximately 7.9 million citizens of the State, understandably inflamed public sentiment, and must be condemned by all peace-loving, right-thinking members of society.”

Mr Yusuf, on Friday, retracted his controversial remarks and apologised to the people of Akwa Ibom.

The Administrative Secretary of PFN in Akwa Ibom, Victor Ukpong, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that PFN would “soon” issue a public statement on the matter, but the organisation had yet to do so after several hours.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach CAN for its comment.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, is a pastor. He owns a medium-sized church, All Nations Christian Ministry International, in Eket, Akwa Ibom.

Like his predecessors, Mr Eno administration has been spending millions of government funds to organise frequent religious programmes, including monthly prayer and fasting.

The clash between the Akwa Ibom State Government and Mr Yusuf coincides with William Kumuyi’s well-publicised crusade in Uyo. Mr Kumuyi is the founder of Deeper Life Ministry, one of the largest churches in Nigeria.

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While a disappointed Mr Yusuf was making plans to move its ministry’s equipment from Uyo to Lagos, Governor Eno on Friday received Mr Kumuyi and his delegation at the Government House, Uyo.

“May the good Lord that you serve strengthen you to carry the cross across the nations,” Joshua Iboro Samson, a cleric from Akwa Ibom, said in a consolatory Facebook message to Mr Yusuf, who had previously held crusades in Lagos, Kaduna and other Nigerian cities.

As at Saturday afternoon, Mr Yusuf’s billboard for the botched crusade was still in front of the Ibom Hall when our reporter visited the place.